Families Face Fierce Competition for Student Aid: Season Starts With Sharp Increase in Demand

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The student financial aid season started January 1, and early indications are that competition for the estimated $144 billion of federal, state, and institutional aid is likely to be fierce in the 2009-10 academic year.

“During the first five days of the new financial aid season, we saw a more than 40 percent increase in the number of families seeking assistance compared with last year,” said Craig V. Carroll, chief executive officer of Student Financial Aid Services, Inc., the nation’s oldest and largest non-governmental student financial aid advisor. “The demand for student aid has been climbing as the recession batters family budgets, parents’ jobs are eliminated, and self-employed parents experience business downturns. Given the trend we have been seeing since November, we expect this season to break records for the number of college students competing for financial aid.”

Applying early for college financial aid can make the difference between getting all the money a student is eligible for and losing out on some much-needed funds. But given the demand for aid, applying early this year may be more important than ever before.

“We urge students and families not to delay filing the federal student aid application because we expect the competition for grants, scholarships, and loans will be at an all-time high,” Carroll said.

Starting January 1, the U.S. Department of Education accepts for free the required federal student aid application, known as the FAFSA.

Because money from many student aid programs is disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis, the sooner a student files the FAFSA, the better is his/her chances are of getting the most aid for education.

This year the form asks 137 income, asset, and dependency questions. States, colleges, and the federal government use the information to try to equitably distribute student aid.

But as U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings told those at the Federal Student Aid Conference last month, filing the FAFSA is “still a real ‘pain in the assets’.”

“Sadly, many students, up to 8 million in fact, don't even apply for aid, in part because of all the red tape,” Spellings said. “We believe most would have been eligible for assistance.”

To help families unravel the complexity of the FAFSA, Student Financial Aid Services, Inc. provides two fee-based preparation and advisory services, both include a new simplified process, a unique 450-point FAFSACheck^TM error detector, extensive personal assistance, and human review of all applications to ensure accuracy.

“Mistakes are common on the FAFSA and can deprive students of money,” Carroll said. “We offer one-on-one counseling and specialized services to manage student aid deadlines, assist clients in answering difficult FAFSA questions, provide estimates of the amount of federal and state aid they can expect to receive, and check for errors to ensure that the FAFSA is accurate. Our goal is to help students and families get the maximum amount of aid they are eligible to receive.”

Nearly every student is eligible for some form of financial aid, including low-interest federal Stafford and/or parent PLUS loans, regardless of income or circumstances, provided a student:

• is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or an eligible non-citizen;
• has a valid Social Security Number;
• has a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent;
• is registered with the U.S. Selective Service (if a male ages 18 to 25);
• completes a FAFSA promising to use any federal aid for educational purposes;
• does not owe refunds on any federal student grants;
• is not in default on any student loans; and
• has not been found guilty of the sale or possession of illegal drugs during a period when he/she received federal student aid.

Student Financial Aid Services, Inc. (SFAS) is a fee-based preparation and advisory company dedicated to helping America’s families access the most student aid possible to pursue their college dreams. Based in Sacramento, CA, SFAS is the oldest and largest student aid preparation service in the U.S. http://www.sfas.com or http://www.fafsa.com. Families seeking FAFSA advice may call toll-free 1.866.514.5948.